Agricultural News
It's a Busy Time on The Southwest Oklahoma Farm Says Cody Goodknight, as Farmers Rush to Finish Planting Wheat and Harvest a Drought and Freeze Damaged Cotton Crop
Tue, 17 Nov 2020 11:22:50 CST
Like many of his fellow farmers, Cody Goodknight is a busy guy today. He is in the midst of finishing planting winter wheat and harvesting cotton on his farm near Chattanooga in southwest Oklahoma.
Goodknight was recently interviewed by Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Editor Sam Knipp.
The wheat that was planted early is up and looking good, Goodknight said. We're trying to plant some late wheat now to finish.
Late season wheat is pretty common in our area, Goodknight said. We like to have it all in by Thanksgiving and if it's a mild winter you can plant even later and still have warm weather to get it established, he said.
The southwest Oklahoma young farmer said there is limited wheat pasture in his area as many farmers were able to get only about half of the crop planted and established. The remainder of the wheat was "dusted in" until rain helped some of the seed emerge.
He said some producers have turned cattle out on a few scattered fields but most of the wheat will not be grazed until later or possibly even left to harvest for grain.
Fortunately, the wheat market has rallied and that could encourage farmers to harvest more grain next spring, he said.
He noted mixed results are coming in from the cotton fields that were hard hit by a mid-season drought and a late season freeze.
The late October ice storm dealt an especially hard hit to Goodknight's cotton fields.
Cotton that was ready to harvest with open bolls was subject to ice and rain that hurt the quality and knocked some on the ground, Goodknight said, leading to a loss of quality and pounds.
Immature cotton with unopened bolls was killed by the freezing temperatures and will need to be destroyed.
Goodknight added Mother Nature is always a challenge for farmers but this year it has been even more challenging with the drought, markets and the pandemic.
Click on the listen bar below to hear more of Sam's interview with Cody Goodknight.
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